AUSTRALIA: Nursing home rapist Henry Alexander gets six months

MELBOURNE (The Herald Sun), March 28, 2008: A judge has defended sentencing a nursing home rapist who attacked an elderly dementia sufferer to just six months in jail. Henry Alexander, 36, of Mt Martha, was this morning jailed for three years, but two-and-a-half years of the sentence were suspended. The 85-year-old woman's devastated family said her husband was totally destroyed after the rape. The profoundly distressed man blamed himself for what had happened and died the following year as his health deteriorated. "We can not know what impact the rape has had on (the woman) but we do not believe that anyone can say that her mental capability is so that she was unaffected by it," the family said in a victim impact statement. During his sentencing hearing today, the County Court was told Alexander and another carer had been washing the woman in her room when he raped her. The co-worker witnessed the incident and later reported to senior staff. Alexander pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the dementia sufferer on November 22, 2005, but a jury convicted him. Judge Michael Bourke said the breach of trust resulted in a humiliation that was difficult to measure because of the woman's condition, but had been keenly felt by her family. "This offence was also a very serious invasion of the person and dignity of a highly vulnerable woman." Judge Bourke said. The offence did not appear to be sexually motivated, he said. Judge Bourke said that although some might believe the sentence fell short of what was ordinarily required, the case had an unusual set of circumstances and he had taken into account Alexander's previous good character. "I have found this a difficult and distressing matter and I feel great sympathy for the persons involved with the victim," he said. The court heard Alexander had no prior convictions, was unlikely to re-offend and had good prospects for rehabilitation. "I feel comfortable that this man does not suffer a psycho-sexual disorder," Judge Bourke said. Members of the victim's family did not comment as they left court. But two granddaughters of a 98-year-old female former resident at the same nursing home, who Alexander was found not guilty of rape, said the sentence was too lenient. "Our concern is that there are a number of other people caring for others in our community at the moment and this is a huge transgression of a duty of care with a vulnerable member of our society," one of the women said. "I think six months in prison for a general deterrence, it doesn't say to the community strongly enough that this is completely unacceptable and immoral behaviour," she said. By Shelley Hadfield with AAP © Herald and Weekly Times.